They can, but it is very rare given there are several safety nets to burn through before that happens. Actual failures include a clearing house in France in 1974, in Malaysia in 1983 and in Hong Kong in 1987.(File pic shows Nickel sheets at Kola Mining and Metallurgical Company, a subsidiary of Nornickel metals and mining company, in Monchegorsk in Murmansk Region, Russia February 25, 2021)
LONDON: The London Metal Exchange (LME) took emergency measures to halt trading in nickel on Tuesday as prices doubled to more than $100,000 a tonne.
The surge was blamed on short-covering by one of the world's top producers as Western sanctions squeezed Russia, a major nickel producer. Traders said some holders of nickel positions had also struggled to pay margins to their clearing house.
